(a) Sales Subject to Rules. Every lot or single grave sold shall be subject to the rules and regulations now in force or that may be hereafter adopted and to such changes of the present rules as are found necessary for the protection of lot owners and the remains of the dead.
(b) Purchases; Right of Purchaser. Purchases of lots in cemeteries shall be made from the City Clerk and the purchasers shall acquire only the privilege or right to make interments in the lots so purchased.
(c) Certificates of Ownership. Original ownership shall be evidenced by a certificate which shall be surrendered and a new certificate issued in the event of any transfer. Ownership certificates shall bear the name of the owner, the lot number, the number of graves, the name of the cemetery and such other information as may be necessary and shall be signed by the City Clerk.
(d) Transfers; Approval Required. The ownership of any lot or portion thereof shall not be transferred without the approval of the Superintendent of Cemeteries.
(e) Transfer Application; Fee. Transfers shall be made upon application only and shall be accompanied by a statement showing good and sufficient reasons for such transfer. In no case will transfers be permitted where the purpose is speculative or for any other reason deemed undesirable. The transfer fee on all lots or graves sold without perpetual care shall include perpetual care at forty percent of the current lot sale price. This amount is to be deposited in the Perpetual Care Trust Fund.
(f) Transfer by Court Order. In the absence of a written order to the contrary, the City shall, after the owner's death, honor a transfer of ownership by a court order when presented for record with the City Clerk.
(g) Deceased Lot Owners. In cases where the owner is deceased and there is no estate to be probated, the heirs of the deceased may make application to the City Clerk for a transfer. Upon submission of satisfactory evidence, approved by the City Attorney, the Clerk shall issue a new certificate to the heirs entitled thereto.
(h) Lost or Destroyed Certificates. In case of loss or destruction of a certificate of ownership, no new certificate shall be issued in lieu thereof except upon satisfactory proof to Council of such loss or destruction and upon giving satisfactory security, by bond or otherwise, against loss to the City, as may be required by Council. Any such new certificate shall be plainly marked "duplicate" upon its face.
(i) Payment for Lots; Prices. Payment for lots in City cemeteries shall be made to the City Treasurer in accordance with prices established, from time to time, by resolution of Council.
(j) Deposit of Moneys. All moneys received by the City Treasurer for the sale of lots in City cemeteries shall be deposited as follows: sixty percent in the Cemetery Maintenance Fund and forty percent in the Cemetery Perpetual Care Trust Fund.
(Ord. 16. Passed 9-1-64; Ord. 2006-03. Passed 2-21-06.)